The present invention relates to furnishings and equipment and, more particularly, to a multi-purpose adjustable support and retention device for interchangeably supporting and retaining furnishings and/or equipment.
Child-related furniture and equipment include, but are limited to, high chairs, changing tables, bathing tubs, bassinets, cribs, and strollers. Several considerations must be taken by parents and caregivers regarding furnishings and equipment to include quality, price, convenience (space and use) and safety. Unfortunately, so many items are typically required to provide care to a child. Many times price or space dictates the type or quantity of equipment and furnishings acquired. For example, inhabitants of close quarters may not have the room for several items of child furnishings. To complicate matters, the advent of child fertility pills has spawned multiple births to many parents, causing a need for redundant furnishings.
It would be desirable to minimize the number of furnishings required for small households, households with several young children, and child care facilities. Such a need could be addressed with the provision of multifunctional furnishings that provide several functions. An example of such a furnishing is a car safety seat that can be held in a base strapped within a car, or to the car seat itself, and also a retaining mechanism adapted to a stroller. Such dual use or multifunctional technology allows parents to minimize the amount of equipment required during travel. Examples of other multifunctional child-related technology can be found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,676,386; D402,235; and 5,893,606.
It would also be desirable for safety and convenience to be a key feature of furniture and equipment design. For example, high chairs of varying designs are available. Many continue to have four legs as shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,582,462 and 5,238,292. Such devices, however, are not regarded as stable and could topple. High chairs having four legs can be awkward because the legs stand out and are prone to be stumbled over or tripped on. Furthermore, the legs prevent a high chair from conveniently being relocated or adjusted for orientation around a dining room table. Several high chairs are collapsible as shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,707,104 and 5,238,292, but not adjustable. Some have wheels to provide for some adjustability through the mobility provided by wheels as shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,707,104 and 5,468,051. U.S. Pat. No. 5,468,051 to Huang provides vertical adjustability of the high chair through a pair of sleeves and struts and wheels for some ground mobility.
Unfortunately, many of the prior art devices are not easily adaptable to other uses. Furthermore, optimum safety and convenience is not readily achievable in the art. It would therefore be desirable to have a support and retention mechanism for plural child-related furnishings and equipment that takes into consideration convenience (e.g., adjustability and adaptability) and safety.
In order to overcome the shortcomings of the prior art there is provided an adjustable support and retention device for supporting and retaining interchangeable furnishings and/or equipment. The present invention fulfills a more specific need in the art of providing an adjustable support and retention device that is adaptable to plural child-related furnishings (e.g., furniture or equipment) that are adapted to interface with the invention. Interchangeable furnishing that are capable of being adapted for use in combination with the present invention, but in no way limited to the following, are chairs (e.g., car seats and/or high chairs), changing tables, table tops, bassinets, bathing tubs, and/or multi-purpose trays for other domestic uses (e.g., audio/visual equipment).
In accordance with the present invention there is provided a support and retention device including: a pedestal; a horizontally adjustable support column attached to the pedestal for providing rotatable support to an equipment support and retention mechanism; and a support and retention mechanism. The horizontally adjustable support column can be, for example, a telescoping-type support column assembly attached to and projecting upwards from the pedestal and for providing rotatable support to the support and retention assembly.
Another feature of the present invention provides a pedestal comprised of five support members (e.g., arms or legs) extending outwardly from the center of the pedestal, the members being integrated in the center and together forming the entire pedestal. The center portion of the pedestal provides support for the horizontally adjustable support column and adaptable equipment. The five members provide enhanced stability to the entire apparatus. Toppling is less likely with a five member configuration that extend to form a wide base.
Another feature of the present invention provides for a pedestal having five rollers (e.g., casters, wheels and the like) for providing support and ground mobility at the pedestal. Each roller would be retained by five support members extending outward from the center of the pedestal and forming the main body of the pedestal. The support members each rotatably retain one of the rollers. The pedestal also provides support for the telescoping column assembly. The pedestal may further comprise of a braking mechanism for preventing movement of said pedestal with respect to the ground.
Another feature of the present invention provides a braking mechanism for the pedestal in order to prevent or limit ground movement.
In accordance with another feature of the invention there is provided a child seat that is securably connectable to and supportable by the adjustable support and retention device of the present invention. The seat includes a back rest that is adjustably connected to the child seat (e.g., a cushioned seat bottom) for providing reclining of the backrest. Reclining of the backrest is important for feeding of smaller children and infants.
In accordance with another feature of the present invention there is provided a feeding tray assembly. The tray can be free-standing or adjustably attachable to the child seat.
Another feature of the present invention provides for a child seat assembly comprising of two child seats adjustably retained back-to-back on the support and retention device for providing two child seating capacity within a singular unit that is rotatably support by the support and retention mechanism. The two child seats would preferably be adjustable where the respective seats are secured/connected at the support and retention mechanism of the support and retention device. Adjustable seating may allow for adjustment of the angle (reclining angle) for each respective seats"" seat back with respect to each other. The child seats may each be adaptable to adjustably retain feeding trays where use of an attached tray is desired.
Another feature of the present invention is the provision of a sliding or adjustable mechanism as part of the support and retention device for providing child seats horizontally adjustable with respect to each other thereby providing reclining operation to the seats and their respective seat backs. The mechanism may represent a track, that is adaptable to a complimentary track member of adaptable furniture or equipment, that can be provided as part of the support and retention mechanism.
A track member may be mounted to the bottom of chair assembly to provide for independent slidability of each seat of the dual seat assembly, thus allowing each seat to slide apart on the first track member thereby providing reclining action to each seat""s respective back support.
There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the invention in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated.
There are, of course, additional features of the invention that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto.
In this respect, before explaining at least one embodiment of the invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and to the arrangements of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting.
As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception, upon which this disclosure is based, may readily be utilized as a basis for the designing of other structures, methods and systems for carrying out the several purposes of the present invention. It is important, therefore, that the claims be regarded as including such equivalent constructions insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention.